Ras Malai ( with step by step pictures)

I have never been so busy in my life, lots of thing happening and I am working really hard after ages. Blogging should be the last thing I should be doing now, but sometimes for a break I find blogging and cooking therapeutic. I really wish I could spend more time on styling the picture and taking beautiful pictures but if I go for that doing a post might not happen for another few more weeks and I don’t want to ignore my blog that long. Let me get straight to the recipe before my hubby catches me doing a blog post when I have lots of pending work to finish.

Recipe adapted from - Show me the curry

Ingredients ( serves 6 )

For paneer

Milk – 6 cups

Lime juice – 3 tbsp.

For making Malai

Water – 5 cup

Sugar – cup

Paneer patties

For Ras

Milk – 5 cups

Sugar – 1 cup or as required

Cardamom crushed – ¼ tsp.

Saffron strand – few

Nuts- Almonds and Pistachios

Method

Making Paneer

• Boil milk and add 3 tbsp. of lime juice.
• Milk curdles and whey separates, strain it in colander lined with muslin cloth and rinse few times in cold water to remove lime flavour.
• Squeeze it hard and hang the muslin cloth under the tap for 30 minutes to strain any water left.
• Place a small weight on top of the muslin cloth to remove the water completely.

Making Paneer patties

• In a food processor or mixie blitz the Paneer for few seconds and knead until it’s soft or alternatively knead them well for 5- 10 minutes until soft.                              
  
• Divide the dough into 15- 20 equal sized balls and press them gently and make patties.                                                                                                                  
  

• Meanwhile add 5 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar in a pressure cooker. Place it on a medium flame until sugar I dissolved. Now carefully add the patties to the sugar water and close the lid and pressure cook it for 1 whistle and remove from fire.                                                                                                                         
  

• After 5 minutes take the pressure to kitchen sink and pour cold water to it so release the pressure, once the pressure is released open the cooker and take out the patties one by one with a ladle or spoon and gently give it squeeze to remove the excess water.                                                                                                       
           

• Let it cool down.

Making Ras

•  Boil milk with saffron strands in a thick bottomed vessel or a non-stick vessel and simmer it for 30- 45  minutes stirring every now and then until milk reduces to half.   
  
•  Add crushed cardamom and in the end and remove from fire once sugar is dissolved. Let it cool down a little bit.                                                                   
  

Chilling and serving

• Add the patties to Ras (Reduced milk) and chill it the fridge for 3-4 hours.
• Add Pistachios and Almond shavings on top before serving. 

Notes
When I made paneer I added a bit too much lime juice than 3 tbs so my paneer had a subtle ime flavour, but neverthless it was delicious. So please stick to 3 tbs. if you dont want a paneer with lime flavour :)